Indiana at Atlanta

Hawks storm past Pacers with 18-0 run in fourth quarter

ATLANTA -- When Kyle Korver was missing shots and the Hawks were struggling, coach Larry Drew grabbed Korver near the bench and told the 3-point specialist to keep shooting.

Korver nodded, said he would and then kept his word when the game was on the line.

Korver scored eight consecutive points, including back-to-back 3-pointers, in a late 18-0 run and the Hawks, who trailed by 14 points early in the fourth quarter, beat the Indiana Pacers 89-86 on Wednesday night.

Korver missed five of six 3-pointers in the first three quarters, but Drew said he remained confident in his shooter.

"Absolutely, because I believe in him," Drew said. "I've seen him enough. I believe in his ability. Shooters have that mentality. They can miss five and come back and make the next shot."

Korver, acquired from the Chicago in the offseason for a trade exception and cash, said he appreciated the vote of confidence from his new team.

"It's good when you know your coach and teammates have your back and keep passing you the ball," Korver said.

Indiana led 83-69 before Atlanta started the comeback. Korver hit back-to-back 3-pointers and added another jumper, cutting the lead to 83-82.

Korver then missed another jumper but Josh Smith grabbed the rebound and passed to Jeff Teague, who hit a 3-pointer with 1:04 remaining to give Atlanta an 85-83 lead. Teague added another basket to cap the 18-0 run.

"Five minutes left to go, all of a sudden they seemed like they were on fire," Indiana's Roy Hibbert said. "We needed a stop and they got open dunks so we've got to figure something out."

Lance Stephenson ended Indiana's drought by hitting a 3-pointer with 21 seconds remaining, cutting Atlanta's lead to one point. Lou Williams answered with a quick basket for the Hawks.

David West and George Hill each scored 20 for the Pacers. George had 13.

Al Horford, who led Atlanta with 16 points, said Korver "bailed us out tonight."

"He had good looks all game long," Horford said. "He just couldn't hit them. He's a veteran player. He knows what he has to do, and he just kept shooting the ball with confidence. They eventually fell when it mattered."

Hill said the Pacers "broke down" in the final period.

"Everybody," Hill said. "It starts by everybody holding each other accountable. We've got to figure out what we can do better to be a better team. It starts with myself."

It was a bad ending to a bad day for the Pacers. The team announced that forward Danny Granger is expected to miss up to three months after receiving an injection in his left knee to treat patellar tendinosis. Granger, who hasn't played this season, averaged 18.7 points to lead Indiana last season.

"It was a struggle to score down the stretch," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "We competed our tails off, it just wasn't enough.

"We were trying everything we could."

Atlanta's 18-0 run matched the 18 unanswered points by the Pacers in the third period, when they appeared to take control of the game.

"We had the last run," Korver said. "It was a good gut-check for our team. We were kind of praying there for a minute."

The Hawks led 62-56 before going scoreless for more than 6 minutes, missing nine consecutive shots from the field, as Indiana built its lead. Smith and Pachulia were called for technical fouls during the run.

Drew tried a big lineup in hopes of matching up against Indiana's 7-foot-2 Hibbert and the 6-9 West inside. Pachulia, normally a backup, started at center as Horford shifted to power forward. Smith moved from power forward to small forward. Atlanta also went bigger in its backup with Korver at shooting guard.

The added size made little difference early as West had 12 points in the first quarter, but the Hawks finished with a 51-41 edge in rebounds.

Notes

Pacers F-C Jeff Pendergraph (concussion) was inactive.

Drew said C Johan Petro, who has been held out with lower back pain, will remain inactive until he can log enough practice time to feel comfortable in games.

Smith missed four consecutive free throws in the opening minutes of the second half. He had 11 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

The Pacers blocked seven shots, including two by Hibbert and two by Gerald Green.

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